Small Talk
by Beyond The Horizon
Summary: While Emmett's setting up the apparatus for the rocket fuel reaction, Marty sees the opportunity for some friendly conversation. Slight Emmett/Marty. Takes place in "It's About Time" of the BTTF game. Knowledge of the game is recommended but not required.


**A/N: Takes place between the scene in "It's About Time" when Marty's talking to Doc in the jailhouse and the following scene when they're in the lab. Don't take it too seriously. Feedback is always appreciated.**

The sound of Doc's gasp pulled my attention away from the small barred window. I turned my head to see Emmett running towards me, a slightly anxious expression on his face. "C'mon, let's go! Time waits for no man!" He took up a jogging motion and urged me to follow. I ran after him, slightly surprised at the energy of the seventeen year old. "This way." He called and made a sharp right turn. _Christ, I knew I should've attended gym class…_

I picked up my pace until I was running alongside him. "I know you're excited for your rocket drill but what's the hurry?" I asked in between breaths.

The future scientist gave me a sideways glace before answering. "I want to make sure that we're able to successfully conduct the reaction before my father arrives home. If my father ever discovered my scientific ventures, the results would be catastrophic." I couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of his words. He caught sight of my faint smile and raised an eyebrow. "My situation is hardly one that provokes amusement."

"Sorry, Emmett. I was just thinking of how much you remind me of a close friend." I answered. His hand reached out and lightly grasped the fabric of my white shirt. He gently pulled me in a new direction until coming to a full stop in front of a rather exquisite house. The white paint and well-crafted architecture certainly made it stand out from the other houses in the area. "This is where you live?" I asked, catching my breath. I gave a low whistle. "Not bad at all."

"Come on." He walked to the porch and faced the front door. Sliding his hand into his pant pocket, he withdrew a slightly rusted key. Emmett cast a quick glance in both directions before opening the door and ushering me inside. No sooner had I entered, Emmett began to lead me down the hallway and into the basement. I was slightly disappointed that he didn't give me a better look at his house and wordlessly followed him into the basement.

His lab certainly had some of the qualities of his garage based one but it still held an empty feeling. Papers were messily scattered on the nearby desk and the only source of light came from the ceiling lamp. Emmett carefully closed the door behind him and turned to me with a proud smile. "What do you think?"

My eyes looked around the room, taking in the various pieces of equipment. I walked forward and slid my hands into my pant pockets. "It's amazing, Emmett." I murmured. I walked over to the desk and caught sight of various mathematical formulas written in what appeared to be a hasty manner; no doubt the calculations necessary to make the rocket drill possible. I moved the top paper out of the way and took in the complexity of the calculations. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever accomplish something of this magnitude. Emmett Brown was truly ahead of his time.

"Mr. Callahan?" I turned towards the other teenager and looked at him expectantly. "I'm going to begin work on setting up the proper apparatus for the reaction." I nodded, a little confused by the initial set up of equipment. He noted my confused look and gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'll explain everything in detail once I'm finished. You can take a seat over there." He motioned towards a back table.

I flushed in slight embarrassment. "Oh yeah, I'd better keep out of your way." I said sheepishly. I hurriedly moved out of Emmett's way and hopped up onto the surface of the back table. Figuring that this would take a while, I decided to make some casual conversation. "So when did you first realise your passion for science?"

Emmett took a screwdriver from the faded red toolbox in the corner and began tightening the screws on what looked like a stand for a cauldron. "A few years back, I suppose." His brow was furrowed in concentration, straining to turn the screw tighter. "But…ah…I never acted upon it." He finished. Moving towards what looked to be a fish tank; he lowered his head and looked into the water. I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of the fish tank is, especially when he didn't have any fish to begin with. I figured it was best not to question his methods. "How about you? What enticed you to work at the patent office?" His voice sounded from behind the fish tank.

The question caught me off guard. I nervously rubbed the back of my neck, trying to think of a good answer. "Well…uh…my dad?" I replied weakly. Emmett's head appeared from behind the fish tank and gave me a disbelieving look. I mentally scolded myself for thinking up such a lame answer but unfortunately, it was too late to back out. "My dad wanted me to get a job on the side, you know, to gain some work experience." I avoided looking directly at Emmett. _What a pathetic lie._

"I doubt he's as overbearing as mine." Emmett commented with a shrug. I turned my eyes back to meet his gaze. _He's actually buying it…_ "You know, I used to take out science textbooks from the library and hide them inside my law books." Emmett chuckled softly. "It was one of the few methods I had that helped me make it through the day. Of course, I had to stop when my father began assigning more complex errands." The teen turned back towards the cauldron and struck a match. "I'm sure he would suffer a grave heart attack if he ever got wind of my love for science." He lowered the match which started a small and concentrated fire from underneath the cauldron.

I gripped the edge of the table and sighed. The comparison between his father and my own almost seemed unfair. Dad always supported me in whatever I chose to do. When I started to play my guitar, he was cheering me on and gave me regular compliments on my 'natural talent'. When I wanted to learn how to ice skate when I was younger, he was more than happy to take me out on the rink and show me how it was done. Doc's father, on the other hand, was pushing his son down a linear road. He wasn't encouraging his son's gifted ability in the sciences; instead, he pushed his son towards a law based career. "I'm glad that you're still pursuing science." I said with a smile. "I know how difficult it must be to stand up to your father but I guarantee that science, not law, is where you belong."

"Thank you. I'd like to think that too." Emmett moved towards a device with a crank and began to inspect it. "Would you mind passing me that piece of paper next to you? The one with the number four in the margin?"

I shifted my body and grabbed the paper he requested. I jumped off the table and approached him. "This one?" Emmett reached out and grabbed the paper from my grasp, our hands brushing for a brief moment.

I edged my hand away from his and forfeited the paper. "Are you okay?" The teen asked with slight worry.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just nervous about whether we'll get the rocket drill operating." I said quickly. Emmett nodded slowly and turned back towards the odd contraption.

I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retreated back to my initial position. I couldn't explain it but when his hand brushed up against mine, a strange feeling came over me. I wasn't used to being in this close proximity with Doc. I was used to looking over his shoulder while he was working on calculations. I was used to facing him dead on, looking at his older and more mature appearance. This was too much for me to handle. I must've been wearing a grim expression on my face because Emmett met my eye once more and frowned. "You look unwell. Feel free to have a drink of water from the sink over there. There's a glass over there."

"I'm going to have to take you up on that offer." I replied as I made my way to the sink and turned the handle, freeing the cold water into my glass. After a few moments of watching the water fill the glass's volume, I turned off the water and tenderly took a sip. "Are you ever going to give me an explanation as to what you're doing?"

"I'll be sure to give you a thorough explanation once I'm finished with the apparatus." Emmett bit his lip, evident that he was trying to think up a better way of phrasing his next sentence. "This may sound silly but I was hoping that we might be able to stay friends once this is all over." Emmett said as casually as possible. "You seem to have a healthy interest in science and I daresay you're one of the few people who seem to be compatible with my personality."

I swallowed hard. The guilt of lying to him was starting to make me sick. "You wouldn't want to start a friendship with someone like me." I said faintly. I slowly moved my glass in small circles, watching the water slosh around.

"Nonsense. You've helped me in so many ways and you definitely have the traits of a good friend." He paused and his voice took a noticeably sadder tone. "Unless, of course, you're too busy at the patent office…"

Another wave of guilt. Shit, I don't know how much I can handle. "No, not at all. I'll always have time for you." My voice cracked about halfway through but judging by his expression, he hadn't noticed.

His face lit up at my words but quickly coughed in an attempt to hide his excitement. He promptly turned his attention back to the device with the crank and began tweaking the loose parts. "That really means a lot, Mr. Callahan."

"You can call me by my first name, you know." I said, crossing my arms and leaning against the edge of the oak table.

Emmett smirked but his eyes didn't leave the device. "Mr. Callahan suits you." He looked up for a fraction of a second and made eye contact. "But if you insist…"

Eager to change the subject, I turned my head towards the doorway. "I wonder when the Stay Sober Society will arrive…"

Emmett cursed under his breath and brought a hand to his forehead. "I had totally forgotten about them. Father's going to be furious when he sees them." Adjusting his teal sweater vest, he turned back to the work at hand. "I'm just going to have to deal with it later. It's far too late to turn back now." Seeing Emmett, concentrated at the task at hand, really made me admire his commitment to his work. Obviously his hard work and determination wouldn't be lost over the course of his life. "Keep up the casual small talk, Harry. It helps me relax." He turned towards me with a cheeky look. "And don't ask for an explanation of the experiment, I'll give one to you at the end."

I snapped out of my thoughts and cleared my throat. "Are you seeing anyone, Emmett?" I'm not sure why I brought the topic up in the first place when it was obvious as to what the answer was. I suppose I simply ran out of things to talk about…

"Seeing anyone?" He repeated, caught off guard by the strange question.

"You know, a girlfriend? A sweetheart?" I suddenly regretted bringing it up. I shouldn't be prying into Doc's past relationships. Shit, I'm really screwing up here.

"Between my law work and my love for science, I don't really see where a female could possibly fit in." He tightened a bolt with his wrench and smiled proudly when the bolt clicked into place. "I have the rest of my life to find a woman to share it with. I'm in no particular hurry." He wasn't a particularly bad looking teenager and it surprised me to hear that the local girls weren't swooning over him. Not that he'd give them the time of the day if they did, though. Of course, that would imply him taking time out of his journey of scientific discovery. _Not a chance._

I gave him a slight grin and ran my hand through my slightly messy hair. "It's a shame. I bet you'd be quite the lady-killer."

"Comedic." He said simply, ignoring my look of amusement. "I hardly consider myself the type of boy that the girls fawn over." He stood upright from his previous crouching position and approached my position.

I arched an eyebrow. "Emmett, what are you…" He reached passed me and got a firm hold of the notebook that was behind me. I released the breath that I had been holding in previously and relaxed from my uptight position. _He's standing too close to me again… _

Pulling back, his brown eyes shifted from the notebook to me. In our close proximity, he gave me a once over and smirked. "I bet you're quite the Casanova yourself."

I blinked in surprise. "What makes you say that?"

"Scientists have remarkable observational abilities." With a parting grin, Emmett walked back over to the table with the cauldron and began to scribble down some notes. I felt slightly embarrassed by the compliment and looked for something else to direct my attention towards. I wonder if he knew how easily he could make me uncomfortable. "Eureka! I've finally discovered the perfect algorithm for the reaction to occur." He said with a large smile. "I've done it!" Maybe I should tell him now…

"Listen, Emmett. I have something I've been meaning to tell you…" This was it. I had to come clean. His optimism and trust in me had pushed me over the edge. I couldn't lie to him anymore. He looked up, his eyes sparkled with curiosity. "I…" My voice caught in the back of my throat. I needed the rocket drill. I needed to help older Doc. That was my priority right now. I had to keep Emmett in the dark for a bit longer. Fighting back the urge to confess my true intentions, I sighed heavily. "Thanks for everything."

"No need to thank me. I belong in the field of science and I'm always ready to help the scientific community. I'm doing this for the benefit of mankind." Emmett replied with sincerity. "But I should be thanking you; you helped me with all my errands and encouraged me to work on the drill in the first place. You've been such a dedicated friend and ally upon my quest of scientific discovery. From the bottom of my heart, thank you." The teen stood up and patted me on the shoulder before crouching down to adjust the fish tank's power cord.

"Right…" I said, finding it difficult to hide my sad tone. I had to focus on the task at hand. Get the rocket drill. Get out and save Doc. I moved over to the blackboard in the back. I looked at the diagram and various notes for the rocket drill and gave a skeptical look. I turned around to face the other teenager. "Are you sure this is going to work, Emmett?"

"Don't let the ramshackle nature of my laboratory fool you." He stood up and began walking over to the other side of the room. "If all goes according to plan, we'll soon be in possession of the most powerful rocket fuel known to man!" His voice grew with excitement and anticipation. There was the Doc that I knew so well. He knew exactly what he was doing. He and I both knew that the rocket drill would become a total success.

I gave him a weary smile. I only had one question for him. "That's great. Um, how?"

_Time to hear that explanation._


End file.
